1. Field
This disclosure relates in general to eyewear and more particularly to sport goggles with a frame having a releasably mounted lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most goggles have problems with difficulty of assembly and disassembly for cleaning, sub-optimal vision through the lens, sub-optimal ventilation through the goggle, and sub-optimal comfort. For example, numerous patents have proposed various systems for protecting the eyes of a person from debris (e.g., snow, mud, paintballs, dirt, rock, etc.) entering the eyes of the participant. For example, in environments and situations in which the person is at risk for injury to the eyes or face from impact by high velocity debris such as when playing paintball, a sport goggle can protect the eyes. In other sport where impact is by debris travelling at lower velocities than a paintball such as when snowboarding, the sport goggle not only protects the eye but also can include optics which are intended to enhance the contrast of the wearer's surroundings/environment.
A snowboarder may have a sport or snow goggle strapped around his/her face or head. The snow goggle has a frame which holds at least a partially transparent lens through which the wearer may view his/her surroundings/environment and by which snowflakes or snow are prevented from entering into the wearer's eyes. While snowboarding, the inner surface of the lens is spaced from the wearer's face. Heat from the wearer's face warms the lens beginning at the inner surface of the lens and continuing through the lens towards the outer surface of the lens. This warming of the lens may result in the outer surface being warmer than the ambient temperature. When outside snowflakes land on the outer surface of the lens they melt requiring the user to wipe the lens. This continuing process of wiping the lens to remove melted snow can obscure the user's view through the lens by scratching the lens. The scratched lens may prevent the snowboarder from clearly seeing his/her environment. Another source of scratches is from storing the sport goggles without a cover. In this instance, the lens of the goggle may be placed on a tabletop or within a bag. Contents within the bag and the tabletop surface may itself scratch the exterior surface of the lens.
Further, a specific lens combination may be preferred by the wearer depending on the current weather to enhance their view of the ski slope. In snowboarding applications, interchangeability of lenses is desired due to different environmental conditions that the wearer may encounter. For example, the different environments may warrant different levels of light attenuation and/or color filtration. There have been numerous attempts to provide goggles adaptable for snowboarding with interchangeable lenses of different colors to provide the optimal vision, despite the often variable atmospheric and light conditions that may be encountered by a snowboarder in the course of even a single day. On some snow goggles, the lenses are interchangeable only with the use of special tools by a trained professional. Other such snow goggles include a flexible frame that must be deformed in order to remove and insert the different lenses. For example, the lens can fit into the frame with a slight interference fit induced by making the circumference around the edge of the lens slightly longer than a corresponding path along a lens groove in the frame. Thus, in a frame of this design, a lens generally cannot be freely installed in or removed from the frame. Further, while it is possible to manually change such lenses when the user's fingers are warm in a controlled environment, such is generally not the case when one is on the ski slopes. Fingers are often numb or clad in gloves, reducing manual dexterity to a minimum and making the changing of lenses in the goggles extremely difficult. Further, when such lenses are not properly mounted in the frame, the lens may become dislodged, resulting in possible loss of the lens and, even worse, direct or indirect injury to the wearer. Further, fashion also plays a role in lens tint and color selection for many snowboarders.
Another deficiency, in prior art sport goggles, is the discomfort in wearing the sport goggle. The sport goggle is uncomfortable to wear due to the manner in which the sport goggle is secured to the face of the wearer. In particular, the sport goggle may comprise an elastic head strap. The lens and frame of the sport goggle are disposed in front of the wearer's face while the head strap is routed to the rear of the wearer's head. The head strap is tensioned such that the frame is pressed against the wearer's face. The head strap is attached to the lateral sides of the frame. The tension of the head strap pulls on the lateral sides of the frame and presses the sport goggle unevenly against the wearer's face. The uneven pressure against the wearer's face is one source of discomfort.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved sport goggle.